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Carolyn Koontz

Carolyn Koontz

18 カ国を旅行しました もっと詳しく🇺🇸St. Louis
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    • Carolyn Koontz旅行者Japan 2022
      Bottom Edge of a Thatched RoofPounding rice into mochiOrganic LunchOur chefs!These women teach traditions to childrenTraditional Dance playing Sasara

      Gokayama Means 5 Mountains

      2022年9月12日, 日本 ⋅ ☁️ 77 °F

      Day 11 ~ 12,250 Miles

      Gokayama roughly translates to 5 mountains, is made up of 40 small villages tucked into valleys and crevasses of the area mountains, and can become totally isolated in winter under a heavy blanket of snow.

      We visited the Village of Ainokura and while it is only an hour drive from Kanazawa it is a world away. Ainokura village is set deep in the valley and is comprised of around 20 thatched roof homes. No outside vehicles allowed and I think this is the only place in Japan with a no smoking policy. The structures are constructed of Japanese oak without the use of nails and topped with 20” thick thatched roofs.

      We followed up with a stops at Higashinake, Kaminasi, and Nishiakaomachi. We made Washi paper, sampled freshly made Mochi, and were treated to an organic lunch. We even learned to play the Sasara musical instrument.      もっと詳しく

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    • Carolyn Koontz旅行者Japan 2022
      Kenrokuen Garden
      Kenrokuen GardenKenrokuen GardenKenrokuen GardenKenrokuen GardenGeisha DistrictHakuichi HeadquartersSamurai DistrictSamurai DistrictSamurai House1Samurai House

      Japan Revealed Her Beauty Today.

      2022年9月11日, 日本 ⋅ ⛅ 81 °F

      Day 10 ~ 12,140 Miles

      Japan revealed her beauty today!

      CAUTION: Long Post to Follow.

      We spent the first part of the morning at Kenrokuen Garden which opened to the public in 1875. The grounds are simply stunning and if your mind’s eye pictures a classic Japanese Botanical garden then you’ve pictured Kenrokuen, with its ancient bonsai, water features, moss covered boulders, and a tremendous sense of serenity.

      We traveled from serenity to chaos in the blink of an eye and entered Omicho Market where we competed in a challenge of finding something we had never seen before for 500 yen or less, inquire about it in Japanese, purchase it, then present it to our group at lunch. Honestly I had never seen most of the things, with the exception of the fruit. We did not win the challenge although I think our embellished story was the best.

      After a wonderful lunch at a “French” restaurant (read Italian) we made our way to the Higashi Chaya District, which is historically a geisha area, for a stroll through the narrow stone paved streets lined with tea houses, small shops, and geisha houses. Each bamboo sliding door, although not necessarily welcoming, called me to investigate beyond the slats to glimpse at what lay beyond.

      Next stop: the headquarters of Hakuichi, a leader in the art of gold leaf production. After touring the facility, receiving a history lesson on the process, and creating our own gold leaf art piece, Jay accepted the challenge and had a gold leaf covered ice cream cone. Well done!

      We finished our Kanazawa tour with a stop in the Samurai District. Although not on our itinerary, this area is a must see. This District is near the Kanazawa Castle, where Samurai and their families resided and the Samurai served as guards for the castle. The District has a historic atmosphere with restored Samurai homes which are now private residences, narrow cobblestone roads, and canals and stone bridges that let your imagination wander to times long past. We had the opportunity to visit a remarkable fully restored Samurai house.

      We ended our evening with a fun group happy hour and then dispersed for ice candy aka ice cream bars.

      Kanazawa did not disappoint today (except for the heat and tremendous humidity).      もっと詳しく

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    • Carolyn Koontz旅行者Japan 2022
      2Shinkansen
      Rules for onsen usage

      Faster Than a Speeding…

      2022年9月10日, 日本 ⋅ ⛅ 81 °F

      Day 9 ~ 12,120 Miles

      Shinkansen = Bullet Train.

      It was a bad news/good news morning!

      The bad news: As we waited for our coach to arrive we received news that it had broken down.

      The good news: Our trip leader was somehow prepared for something of this nature and marched our group single file down the roadside with luggage in tow to the public bus stop. We packed in like sardines and made the hour long bus ride to the train station with luggage on our laps with time to spare.

      I barely saw the first Shinkansen whiz past the platform. The sleek white and blue train was already a dot on the horizon by the time I managed to switch my camera to video and find the record button (but I did get a nice video of the platform and empty tracks).

      Our Shinkansen arrived at the exact minute it was scheduled and departed seconds later, even before everyone had luggage stowed and got seated…there are schedules to maintain!

      The ride was remarkable.

      We changed trains halfway through to an Express Train. The schedule was still precise but the second half took 3x the time.

      Our hotel in Kanazawa has more western style beds and I just ordered a non-buckwheat pillow…sleep is calling my name.

      Our hotel once again has onsen (hot springs baths) but this hotel provides directions too.      もっと詳しく

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    • Carolyn Koontz旅行者Japan 2022

      Goodbye Hakone

      2022年9月9日, 日本 ⋅ ☁️ 70 °F

      Day 8 ~ 11,600 miles

      We departed early for Lake Ashi along narrow switchback roads cut into the mountainside and through the dense forest. Unfortunately Mt. Fuji lived up to her reputation of being shy as she was completely hidden under a blanket of clouds. After cruising across Lake Ashi we arrived in Motohakone and then walked along a stretch of the Old Tökaidö Road Ancient Cedar Avenue among cedar trees planted in 1618.

      Next stop Hamamatsuya to an incredible wood shop where the 7th generation of this family is carrying on the tradition of Hakone Parquetry. Many of the pieces take months to produce and are more complex and intricate then anything I’m seen.

      Our full day continued by visiting 2 Geishas. I had been under the mistaken impression that Geisha are sex workers. While that may have been true in ancient Japan it is definitely not currently the case. I have a new found respect for the Geisha. These Geisha we were privileged to meet have been working Geishas for 35 years. They are graceful and elegant and are dedicated to their craft and train daily on over 20 traditional Japanese dances.

      One last stop before heading to our hotel was at the Hakone Botanical Garden of the Wetlands. Honestly this was a waste of time and the “200 meter walk” to our hotel was actually 2+ kilometers which after a long day was an unexpected treat.      もっと詳しく

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    • Carolyn Koontz旅行者Japan 2022
      1Mt. Fuji
      Fresh Produce. Notice the pictures of the growers on the wallRice field soon to be harvested...and this is what A+ Rolled Sushi looks like1Original Bathroom of Samurai Home

      Mt. Fuji is a Shy Mountain

      2022年9月8日, 日本 ⋅ ⛅ 81 °F

      Day 7 ~ 11,500 Miles

      We were told by our travel guide during our orientation meeting that seeing Mt. Fuji is unlikely because she is shy and typically shrouded in clouds. So I consider us fortunate to have had a glimpse of her today!

      Now to backtrack a bit. We left Tokyo this morning and travelled by coach to Hakone. We took a quick break en route at a “Station of the Road” which turned out to be an amazing community run market, restaurant, and rest stop. Our next stop was at an Ashigara Village to visit the Seto Community House where we were greeted by a group of local housewives. These women lovingly provided a tour of this historic house that was once owned by a Samauri family and then proceeded to give us a traditional Japanese cooking lesson for miso soup and rolled sushi. Not to brag, but I received an A+ for my rolled sushi.

      Final stop for the day, Hakone at the Recove Hakone Hotel in the foothills of Mt. Fuji. The Recove is tired and dated with old fashioned door locks, buckwheat pillows hard enough to injure an unlikely intruder, and beds that feel like plywood with a sheet. On a positive note I certainly won’t run out of shampoo, conditioner, and soap because there is a 30 ounce bottle of each conveniently located on the vanity across from the shower.

      Last thought for the day: When traveling anywhere outside the borders of our beautiful country being unexpectedly asked about my passport undoubtedly will send a wave of panic through my body. My passport is in all alone in Tokyo but thankfully should catch up to me by the time we arrive in Kanazawa!      もっと詳しく

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    • Carolyn Koontz旅行者Japan 2022
      1It takes 3 years to produce 1 Taiko Drum
      Tokyo Tower, Asahi Beer HQ, and The "Golden Pooh"Macha Ice Cream tastes like grass

      Caution Big Sound

      2022年9月7日, 日本 ⋅ ⛅ 86 °F

      Day 6

      Back on the subway this morning along with the other 10 million daily riders we headed to a Taiko Studio. Taiko is a traditional Japanese drum. The performance studio was down a steep dark staircase and we removed our shoes to enter. The studio is heavily soundproofed and we were closed in with thick sound deadening double doors. Really the only thing missing were the straight jackets. Our guide warned us of the upcoming loud drums with “ Caution, Big Sound”.

      The drum master performed, gave us a history of Taiko, did a Q&A session, and finally handed out our drumsticks. Once equipped with drumsticks with the diameter of broom handles we formed a semi-circle and picked our drum. By the end of our lesson and jam session we were performing well enough for the next Olympic Opening Ceremony.

      With our ears still ringing we walked a short 15 minutes to Asakusa Temple, the oldest temple in Tokyo. After a quick walk around we cabbed it back to the hotel and met back up with the group for a beautiful welcome dinner.

      Note: The golden colored building shown is the Asahi Brewery HQ and is designed to mimic a mug of beer with foam on the top. The “Golden Pooh” is also part of their complex and is supposed to be a flame but the locals all call it The Golden Pooh.      もっと詳しく

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    • Carolyn Koontz旅行者Japan 2022

      Tales of the Extreme

      2022年9月6日, 日本 ⋅ ⛅ 86 °F

      Day 5

      We joined up with our travel group this morning and traveled north from our hotel by motor coach…still looking for my first pothole! We were able to spend the morning with 2 former Sumo Wrestlers. I’ve seen the sport on TV but did not fully appreciate the level of training and commitment these men go through. We were treated to a brief history, a fantastic demonstration, Q&A session, and traditional Sumo lunch, Chanko and sesame rice (obviously smaller portions).

      Afterwards we traveled to Meiji Shinto Shrine in the center of a 170+ acre manmade forest in Tokyo.

      After the peacefulness of the shrine we headed to Shibuya Crossing via the subway. For 3 days we had wondered out loud where all of the 14 million residents of Tokyo were because the sidewalks weren’t crowded. We found most of them yesterday, they were underground in the subway system. I would have never found my way to open air without following our guide. I wouldn’t have even been able to leave a crumb trail to follow because a maintenance worker would have swept it up almost immediately.

      Shibuya Crossing is pretty much exactly how it is depicted in the movies, a mass of humanity crossing a colossal intersection from multiple directions. We watched the chaos from an elevated position then headed to the street to cross it ourselves. Been there done that, don’t need to do it again!      もっと詳しく

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    • Carolyn Koontz旅行者Japan 2022

      Tsukiji District of Chūō, Tokyo

      2022年9月5日, 日本 ⋅ ⛅ 82 °F

      Day 4

      Today was a sunny 85 degrees with 85% humidity, Tokyo is proving to be a 3 shower a day kind of place.

      Breakfast was provided at the hotel this morning and was a strange experience, more on that later. Upon entering the cafe we were required to take our temperatures (which we will need to report to our trip leader each morning) and “glove up” with those plastic gloves that are too big for everyone just to use the tongs for the buffet.

      Since we don’t officially meet up with our travel group until Tuesday morning we decided to spend the day exploring the area around our hotel and we made our way to Hama-rikyu Gardens. The crews here use a variety of extension ladders, saws, bracing, and techniques to maintain the bonsais. They were amazing.

      But, the highlight of my day was finding a hole in the wall basement restaurant that served amazing food with a former US College student as our waitress. Cultural lesson learned: being required to remove one’s shoes at the door does not mean leaving them there.      もっと詳しく

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    • Carolyn Koontz旅行者Japan 2022
      Another Reminder to Shhh!
      In Flight Dinner MenuIn Flight Appetizer and a MovieThe BLUE ScreenMy Tiny Room

      Safe Arrival in Toyko

      2022年9月4日, 日本 ⋅ ⛅ 77 °F

      DAY 2-3 ~ 11,400 Miles
      Travel Day LA-Tokyo

      I managed to learn three valuable lessons re Japanese norms even before landing. First, if one must speak in public places, one must use hushed tones as to not disturb those within earshot. Second, no cellphone calls in public. And third, it is rude to leave any food on your plate. The first two lessons I learned prior to takeoff and the third lesson I learned after a wonderful meal when 3 separate flight attendants asked me if the food did not meet my tastes. I’m certain there are many more lessons to learn in the coming days.

      Apparently Covid did not result in a worker shortages in Tokyo because as we walked the ~ 1.2 miles from our arrival gate at Haneda to Covid Procedural Check, Immigration, and Customs we were directed by no less than 100 staff holding arrow signage and checking for the “Blue” screen on the MySOS app…thankfully we kept our talking to hushed tones.

      Our anticipated 90-120 minute drive to our hotel was only about 20 minutes along pothole free roads! Check in at Hotel Vista Tokyo Tsukiji was quick and easy.

      Stay tuned for the room review as we adjust to our tiny rooms.      もっと詳しく

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    • Carolyn Koontz旅行者Japan 2022

      God’s Artistry

      2022年9月3日, アメリカ ⋅ ☀️ 90 °F

      From somewhere over the Pacific Ocean

      I think this pictures captures an amazing combination of blues that only God could paint.

      翻訳をご覧ください

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